Hook-and-eye fasteners are widely utilized on undergarments and outerwear. Disengagement of the fastener components to disconnect attached portions of a garment can often be difficult and inconvenient, and this is particularly so when the secured portions are normally at the wearer""s back and/or when they are under tension due to incorporated elastic elements or elasticized-fabric construction. Typically, such difficulties arise in opening the fastened straps of a brassiere.
Accordingly, it is a broad object of the present invention to provide a garment having first and second portions that are constructed for being secured to one another in an adjacent relationship, wherein the fastener utilized affords secure interengagement while, at the same time, enabling facile disengagement when the garment portions are to be separated from one another.
More specific objects of the invention are to provide such a garment, and in particular a brassiere, which utilizes a hook-and-eye type of fastener.
Additional specific objects of the invention are to provide a garment having the foregoing features and advantages, in which the garment fastener includes at least two pairs of elements that are simultaneously disengaged upon operation of the release feature.
It has now been found that certain of the foregoing and related objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a garment comprised of first and second portions constructed for being secured to one another in an adjacent relationship, and a fastener that includes a hooking component and a linking component operatively attached, respectively, to the portions of the garment. The hooking component comprises a substantially rigid body having proximal and distal end portions, and a hook element spaced from the proximal end, the proximal end portion providing a fulcrum element about which the body can pivot and the distal end portion providing a handle element by which such pivoting can be effected. The hook element defines a recess that opens in the direction of the fulcrum element, and the linking component includes a link element that is dimensioned and configured for insertion into the recess of the hook element for engagement thereby; the effective position of the hook element will normally be such as to dispose the fully seated link element between the proximal and distal ends of the fastener body. Pivoting of the body about the fulcrum element, and away from the linking component, promotes disengagement of the hook and link elements and thereby the release of the secured garment portions from one another.
The garment will usually include elastic means for applying tension when the first and second portions thereof (e.g., the straps of a brassiere) are secured by the fastener. The hooking component will normally be covered by a fabric, through which at least the hook element of the hooking component will be accessible to the cooperating link element.
In certain embodiments the fastener (or a number of such fasteners) will provide a plurality of hook elements on the xe2x80x9cfirstxe2x80x9d garment portion, and a corresponding plurality of link elements on the xe2x80x9csecondxe2x80x9d garment portion, the elements being so arranged as to permit the hook elements to concurrently engage with, and substantially simultaneously disengage from, corresponding link elements by pivoting of the fastener body. In those instances in which a plurality of hooking components are employed, the fulcrum elements of the hooking component bodies will be substantially aligned on a common axis, from which axis the hook elements will be substantially equidistantly spaced, so as to permit disengagement of all of the elements upon simultaneous pivoting of the bodies. A covering fabric of the garment may integrate separate hooking components for conjoined pivotal movement; the link elements may also be provided individually or by a single linking component.
The hooking component body will typically be of tab-like form (i.e., small, thin and substantially flat), and its proximal end portion will advantageously have a substantially rectilinear edge portion to conveniently provide an inherent fulcrum element. The body may be formed from a length of wire having contiguous segments affixed to one another. In those embodiments in which the garment is a brassiere or the like, the hooking component will desirably have a slightly arcuate contour, with the hook element projecting from its concave side, to comfortably conform to the wearer""s body.